The real story on Doug Ford and Pierre Poilievre's relationship, or lack thereof...
Reality is far more complicated for both men.
I started writing this piece almost two months ago.
This was long before Marilyn Gladu decided she was done being a social conservative, Mark Carney hating, Freedom Caucus loving Conservative MP and wanted to become a Liberal MP. Perhaps more importantly, it was before Katy Merrifield, Pierre Poilievre’s Director of Communications left under less than stellar circumstances.
While Gladu’s floor crossing is rightfully getting headlines, Merrifield’s departure from Poilievre’s staff is significant. She’s the comms staffer who has been helping Poilievre take a new tone and style with the media, she’s been central to changing how the message is delivered.
Now, like Gladu, Merrifield is gone.
All of this comes against the backdrop of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre having good European and American tours. His appearances on the Triggernometry Podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience and the Diary of a CEO Podcast were all good and well received and then he came home and things went south for him.
As with the main story that I am about to tell, the relationship, or lack thereof, between Poilievre and the most successful and powerful conservative politician in Canada - Ontario Premier Doug Ford - the fault lies with Poilievre.
Some of you will balk at that, will say that Ford is just a Liberal and isn’t a conservative in any way shape or form. I can actually argue both sides in that debate and I have. Those who follow me closely will know that I have been highly critical of Ford on these fronts.
Yet, at the end of the day, he does lead a conservative leaning party and is instinctively a conservative. It might shock some, especially in Western Canada, that Ford spends less per capita than Danielle Smith’s government.
But that isn’t the purpose of this post.
Today, I want to explain the rift between Ford and Poilievre and why it started long before the last federal election campaign. This isn’t a defence of Ford, it is an explanation of how we ended up where we are.
Perhaps the events of the last few days spell the end of Poilievre’s time as leader of the Conservative Party of Canada - that is a very real possibility now and one I will explore later. For now, let’s look at how we ended up where we are and how a national conservative movement pushes forward.
Reaching out and reaching in as Sarah McLachaln said…
Steve Outhouse, the still fairly newly minted campaign manager for the Conservative Party of Canada has been trying to build bridges with provincial parties. This is a good thing, though let me tell you that the detachment between the federal party and say the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party didn’t happen overnight, and it won’t be fixed overnight.
As I have written many times since the last election, if the Conservatives want to win, they need all parts of their coalition working together. In politics you win by addition, not subtraction; you need to grow your base and your coalition, and that means you lean on friends.
Doug Ford’s recent comments to the Toronto Star that seemed to imply he was cheering for a Carney majority shows there is still work to be done.
“It’s no different than the federal government. They have three byelections, and if they win them, then they’ll have a majority. And again, a magical word in both countries is everyone wants certainty. Everyone wants to move forward,” said Ford.
===
“I just believe in majority governments,” said Ford.
In some respects, this is simply Ford acknowledging reality. Of the three by-elections, two are in Liberal strongholds in Toronto and the third is near Montreal where the Liberals are spending a fortune. They will get a majority by winning just two of the three seats, but they are likely to win all three.
Still, Ford’s comments show the work that needs to be done to heal the rift between the Conservatives in Ottawa and the PCs at Queen’s Park and elsewhere. If there was a blossoming relationship between Ford and Poilievre, it’s doubtful Ontario’s premier would have said those words.
Instead, there remains no relationship. None at all.
There is a bizarre belief out there that this rift between Ontario Premier Doug Ford and the federal Conservative Party started in the last election when Kory Teneycke, Ford’s campaign manager, publicly criticized Poilievre and his campaign.
It’s simply not true.
I’ll be honest and say that I don’t know every single detail, but I do know many of them, more than most people. I’ve been saying that I would share this for some time, and it’s taken a while to put this together, so here goes.
It’s a long one, so grab a coffee and settle in.
